Folding-box for cigarettes

ABSTRACT

A hinge-lid box for cigarettes is designed such that box side walls ( 18, 19 ), and lid side walls ( 23, 24 ) comprise two sections which are directed at an angle in relation to one another, that is to say are designed in an approximately roof-shaped manner. The cross section of the pack is shaped in adaptation to the pack contents, namely to a cigarette group in which a central row has a larger number of cigarettes than the two outer rows.

STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is the United States Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Chapter II National Phase of PCT/EP02/08113 having an international filing date of 20 Jul. 2002, which claims priority on German patent application no. 10135409.6 having a filing date of 25 Jul. 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to a hinge-lid box for cigarettes or other elongate articles, comprising a blank made of thin cardboard or similar packaging material for forming a box part and lid, which can be pivoted with the box part in the region of a box rear wall, the box part comprising a box front wall, box rear wall, base wall and two mutually opposite box side walls, and the lid comprising a lid front wall, lid rear wall, end wall and lid side walls, which correspond to the box side walls. The invention also deals with the configuration of a blank for a hinge-lid box.

2. Prior Art

Hinge-lid boxes have been used for some time now as a standard form of packaging for cigarettes which is common throughout the world. The pack contents, formed by a cigarette group, are usually enclosed by an inner blank (tinfoil paper). The resulting cigarette block forms the pack contents. The hinge-lid box itself is usually provided with a collar, which mostly comprises a separate blank and is anchored in the box part.

Hinge-lid boxes are predominantly of cuboidal design with a rectangular cross section and right-angled upright pack edges. For adaptation to the shape of the pack contents, namely to the round cigarettes, packs with an octagonal cross section and with rounded upright pack edges have already been proposed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to propose a novel shape or configuration of a hinge-lid box, in particular for cigarettes, which ensures improved adaptation to the pack contents and, furthermore, is easy to handle during use.

In order to achieve this object, the hinge-lid box according to the invention is characterized in that at least one of the box side walls and, correspondingly, of the associated lid side wall comprises two wall sections directed at an (obtuse) angle in relation to one another. The pack is preferably of symmetrical design, that is to say with corresponding side walls, which each have a roof-shaped symmetrical cross section with a pack edge in an imaginary central transverse plane of the pack and wall sections of the same width.

The otherwise conventionally designed collar is adapted to the contour of the hinge-lid box, and thus has a roof-shaped angling in the region of collar side tabs, with two tab sections which are directed at an angle in relation to one another being formed in the process.

According to a further proposal of the invention, it is possible for individual upright pack edges, or all the upright pack edges, to be rounded in adaptation to the contour of the cigarettes or of the cigarette group. In the best-case scenario, all (six) upright pack edges are rounded, including the corresponding edges of the collar.

A further special feature is that the box side tabs and lid side tabs, for forming the side walls, only partially overlap, namely in the region of a wall section, that is to say in each case as far as the central pack edge of the side wall on account of a narrow inner side tab. Furthermore, corner tabs, namely base corner tabs and end corner tabs, are configured in a particular manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and details of the hinge-lid box according to the invention and of the blanks for producing the same are explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective illustration of a hinge-lid box with the lid open,

FIG. 2 shows the pack according to FIG. 1 in the closed position,

FIG. 3 shows a spread-out blank for a pack according to FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 shows a blank for a collar of the pack according to FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 5 shows a hinge-lid box with a rounded pack edge in the open position,

FIG. 6 shows the pack according to FIG. 5 in the closed position,

FIG. 7 shows a spread-out blank for a pack according to FIGS. 5 and 6,

FIG. 8 shows a blank for a collar for the pack according to FIGS. 5 and 6,

FIG. 9 shows a perspective illustration of a hinge-lid box with exclusively rounded pack edges in the open position,

FIG. 10 shows the pack according to FIG. 9 in the closed position,

FIG. 11 shows a spread-out blank for a pack according to FIGS. 9 and 10,

FIG. 12 shows a blank for a collar of a hinge-lid box according to FIGS. 9 and 10,

FIG. 13 shows an open hinge-lid box in the configuration according to FIG. 1 with pack contents,

FIG. 14 shows the pack according to FIG. 13 in a plan view in the direction of arrow XIV, and

FIG. 15 to FIG. 17 show partial cross sections of a filled hinge-lid box along a section plane XV-XV from FIG. 13 for three exemplary embodiments of hinge-lid box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A hinge-lid box serves preferably for accommodating cigarettes 10. A cigarette group 11 is enclosed by an inner wrapper 12 made of paper, tinfoil or the like. A resulting cigarette block forms the contents of the hinge-lid box.

A hinge-lid box basically comprises a (bottom) box part 13 and a lid 14. The lid 14 is connected in a pivotable manner, via an articulation 15, to the box part 13. The box part 13 comprises a box front wall 16, box rear wall 17, narrow box side walls 18, 19 and a bottom base wall 20. Correspondingly, the lid comprises a lid front wall 21, lid rear wall 22, lid side walls 23, 24 and an end wall 25. The articulation 15 connects the lid rear wall 22 to the box rear wall 17.

A hinge-lid box also contains a collar 26. In this case, the latter comprises a separate blank (for example, FIG. 4). The collar 26 forms a collar front wall 27 and collar tabs 28. The collar 26 is fixed (by adhesive bonding) within the box part 13, such that a top sub-region projects out of the box part 13 and, when the hinge-lid box is closed, is encased by the lid 14.

One special feature of the present hinge-lid box is that the cross-sectional shape of the latter is adapted, by a corresponding configuration of the side walls 18, 19; 23, 24, to the contour of the pack contents, namely to the shape of the cigarette group 11. For this purpose, the side walls of the box part 13 and of the lid 14 are of essentially roof-shaped design, in any case with two wall sections 29, 30, directed at an (obtuse) angle in relation to one another. In the actual configuration, the side walls comprise two wall sections 29, 30 of the same size, which are directed at an obtuse angle in relation to one another and are thus of wedge-shaped or roof-shaped design.

The exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 4 has sharp-edged contours. The side walls 18, 19; 23, 24 form an outwardly directed central edge 35 along an imaginary central transverse plane of the hinge-lid box. The two walls sections 29, 30 converge in the region of said central edge. The two wall sections are preferably directed at an (interior) angle of (approximately) 120°. Furthermore, an optimum pack configuration is provided in that the two (interior) angles between the wall sections 29, 30 on the one hand, and front wall or rear wall of the pack, on the other hand, are also (approximately) 120°.

The box side walls 18, 19 and the collar side walls 23, 24 comprise respective side tabs 31, 32 and corresponding lid side tabs 33, 34. When the hinge-lid box is in the finished state, these butt against one another and are connected to one another by adhesive bonding or thermal sealing.

In the case of the present hinge-lid box, the outer side tab 31 and, likewise, the outer lid side tab 33 extends over the entire width of the pack and/or of the side walls 18, 19; 23, 24. For this purpose, this outer side tab 31 or lid side tab 33 is provided with a (more or less) central folding line for forming the central edge 35. The inner side tab 32 or lid side tab 34 has a considerably smaller width than the respective outer side tab 31 or lid side tab 33. As can be seen from FIG. 14 in particular, the inner side tabs extend merely in the region of a facing wall section 29 of the outer side tabs, namely approximately as far as the central edge 35. The inner and outer side tabs are connected to one another in this region.

The blank (FIG. 3) is configured in a particular manner corresponding to the contour of the hinge-lid box. As is customary, the lid front wall 16, base wall 20, box rear wall 17, lid rear wall 22, end wall 25 and lid front wall 21 are positioned one after the other, in one piece, within the blank. The outer side tabs 31 are provided laterally on the box front wall 16, the outer lid side tabs 33, correspondingly, are provided laterally on the lid front wall 21, and the (narrow) side tabs 32 and lid side tabs 34 are provided laterally on the box rear wall 17 and lid rear wall 22, respectively. Located on the free end side of the lid front wall 21 is a lid inner tab 37 which is folded against the inside of the lid front wall 21 in the hinge-lid box.

The base wall 20 and end wall 25 are adapted to the contour of the hinge-lid box, that is to say are designed with roof-shaped side edges 38. These butt against top and bottom border regions of the lid side walls 23, 24 on the one hand, and of the box side walls 18, 19, on the other hand, to be precise in a form-fitting manner.

Corner tabs, namely base corner tabs 39 and lid corner tabs 40 are designed in a particular manner. These are provided in extension of the inner side tabs 32, on the one hand, and of the inner lid side tabs 34, on the other hand. The corner tabs 39, 40 are of trapezoidal design in adaptation to the outer contour of the side tabs 32, 34, and to the contour of the base wall 20 and end wall 25. The corner tabs 39, 40 are separated from the respective base wall 20 and end wall 25 in each case by an obliquely directed punch cut 41. Accordingly, the corner tabs 39, 40 extend only over half the width of the associated base wall 20 and end wall 25, respectively. When the hinge-lid box is in the finished state (FIG. 1), the corner tabs 39, 40 butt obliquely against the inside of the respective base wall 20 and end wall 25 and are connected thereto.

The collar 26 is adapted to the cross-sectional contour of the hinge-lid box. For this purpose, the collar tabs 28 are provided with an intermediate edge 42, which is located in the region of the central edge 35 of the side walls. The intermediate edge 42 is preformed by a corresponding folding line in the region of the collar tabs 28 (FIG. 4).

The geometrical configuration of the hinge-lid box allows the cigarette group 11 to be formed in a particular manner. As can be seen in FIGS. 14 to 17, the cigarettes 10 are arranged in three rows 43, 44, 45. The cigarettes 10 of adjacent rows 43, 44, 45 are positioned in an offset manner in relation to one another (so-called saddle position). The central row 44 has a larger number of cigarettes 10, namely, for example eight cigarettes 10, and the two outer rows 43, 45 have seven cigarettes 10. This results in pack contents, namely in the form of a cigarette block, which are optimally adapted to the cross-sectional contour of the pack. The inner wrapper 12 also follows this contour of the pack and pack contents (FIG. 14).

A particular end folding formation which is formed at the top of the inner wrapper 12 comprises, in the region of the box front wall 16, a trapezoidal outer longitudinal tab 46 and, adjacent to the box rear wall 17, a correspondingly trapezoidally designed inner longitudinal tab 47. The inner wrapper 12 forms a conventional overlap 48 in the region of the box side walls 18, 19. The inner wrapper 12 is folded here, with two partially overlapping corner gussets 49, 50 being formed in the process. These are folded over internally against the end surfaces of the cigarettes 10, in each case by way of the side regions of the inner wrapper 12, which are likewise oriented in a roof-shaped manner in relation to one another (FIG. 14).

In the case of the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 5 to 8, the central edge in the region of the side walls 18, 19 and 23, 24 is designed, in adaptation to the contour and dimensions of a cigarette 10, as a round edge or as central rounding 51. The pack or the side walls closely fits or fit the shape of the cigarette 10 in this region, to be precise, the respectively outer cigarette in the region of the central row 44. In the case of this exemplary embodiment, upright pack edges 52, 53 in the region of the transition between the side walls 18, 19 and 23, 24 into the front wall and rear wall are of angular design with an (interior) angle of approximately 120°.

The blank according to FIG. 7 is adapted to this pack shape. In order to form the central roundings 51 in the region of the box part 13 and lid 14, the side tabs 31 and lid side tabs 33 are embossed in order to form the roundings, namely with a group of parallel scores 54 in each case. The collar 26 according to FIG. 8 is designed correspondingly, that is to say likewise with a group of scores 54 instead of the intermediate edge 42. Accordingly, the collar 26 is attached in the region of the collar tabs 28, to the central roundings 51 of the box part 13 and lid 14.

The base wall 20 and end wall 25 are adapted to the cross-sectional contour of the pack and, on narrow sides, have tongue-like protrusions 55 with a rounded tip matching the central rounding 51.

The hinge-lid box according to FIGS. 9 to 12, is also adapted, in the region of the pack edges, to the contour of the pack contents, to be precise by corner roundings 56, 56 as a transition between the side walls 18, 19 and 23, 24 on the one hand, and the front walls 16, 21 and rear walls 17, 22 on the other hand. The blank for this type of pack is designed correspondingly (FIG. 11). The outer side tabs 31 of the box part 13, and correspondingly, the outer lid side tabs are provided with two groups 58, 59 of scores each comprising a plurality of parallel scores. The groups 58 of scores serve for forming the corner roundings 56 on the front side of the pack, and the group 59 of scores serve for forming the central rounding 51.

In order to form the rear corner roundings 57, groups 60 of scores are formed in the region of the box rear wall 17 and lid rear wall 22, to be precise, in each case approximately in extension of the groups 58 of scores. The base wall 20 and end wall 25 are designed in a manner corresponding to the contour of the pack such that the tongue-like protrusions 55 have central roundings corresponding to the central roundings 51 and, furthermore, merge into the blank by way of border roundings 61, matching the corner roundings 56, 57.

In contrast to the abovedescribed exemplary embodiments, the corner tabs, namely base corner tabs 39 and lid corner tabs 40, are separated off from the base wall 20 and end wall 25 by a slot-like interspace 62, with the result that the corner tabs 39, 40 are small, trapezoidal structures.

The three exemplary embodiments differ from one another in respect of the dimensioning of the inner side tabs 32 and lid side tabs 34. In the case of the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIG. 15, the inner side tab 32 or 34 extends to the central edge 35, which performs an adjusting action in respect of the precise positioning of the side tabs 32, 34. In the case of the exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 16 and 17, the side tabs 32, 34 are designed with a smaller width, such that they terminate outside the region of the central roundings 51.

The same applies to the outer side tabs 31, 33, that, in the case of the exemplary embodiments according to FIGS. 15 and 16, these extend more or less as far as the adjacent pack edges 52, whereas, in the case of the example according to FIG. 15, these tabs terminate outside the region of the corner roundings 57. List of designations 10 Cigarette 11 Cigarette group 12 Inner wrapper 13 Box part 14 Lid 15 Articulation 16 Box front wall 17 Box rear wall 18 Box side wall 19 Box side wall 20 Base wall 21 Lid front wall 22 Lid rear wall 23 Lid side wall 24 Lid side wall 25 End wall 26 Collar 27 Collar front wall 28 Collar tab 29 Wall section 30 Wall section 31 Side tab 32 Side tab 33 Lid side tab 34 Lid side tab 35 Central edge 37 Lid inner tab 38 Side edge 39 Base corner tab 40 Lid corner tab 41 Punch cut 42 Intermediate edge 43 Row 44 Row 45 Row 46 Longitudinal tab 47 Longitudinal tab 48 Overlap 49 Corner gusset 50 Corner gusset 51 Central rounding 52 Pack edge 53 Pack edge 54 Score 55 Protrusion 56 Corner rounding 57 Corner rounding 58 Group of scores 59 Group of scores 60 Group of scores 61 Border rounding 62 Interspace 

1. A hinge-lid box for cigarettes (10) or other elongate articles, comprising a blank made of thin cardboard or similar packaging material forming a box part (13) and lid (14), which is connected in a pivotable manner to the box part (13) in the region of a box rear wall (17), the box part (13) comprising a box front wall (16), box rear wall (17), base wall (20) and two mutually opposite box side walls (18, 19), and the lid (14) comprising a lid front wall (21), lid rear wall (22), end wall (25) and two lid side walls (23, 24), which adjoin the box side walls (18,19) in the closed position, characterized in that at least one of the box side walls (18, 19) and, correspondingly of the associated lid side walls (23, 24) comprises two wall sections (29, 30) directed at an (obtuse) angle in relation to one another.
 2. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the two wall sections (29, 30) of a side wall (18, 19; 23, 24) have the same width, such that the side walls (18, 19; 23, 24) are designed symmetrically, in a roof-shaped manner, in cross section, with a central edge (35), or central rounding (51), along an imaginary central transverse plane of the pack.
 3. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that at least the central edge (35) of the side walls (18, 19; 23, 24) is rounded in adaptation to the dimensions of a cigarette, such that a central rounding (51) is formed.
 4. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the central edge (35) of the side walls (18, 19; 23, 24) and/or pack edges (52, 53), as a transition between the side walls (18, 19; 23, 24), on the one hand, and the box front wall (16) or box rear wall (17) and lid front wall (21) or lid rear wall (22), on the other hand are/is rounded, with the formation of corner roundings (56, 57) in adaptation to the shape of a cigarette (10).
 5. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the base wall (20) and end wall (25) are adapted to the cross-sectional contours of the hinge-lid box and, in the region of box side walls (18, 19) and lid side walls (23, 24) form roof-shaped or wedge-shaped protrusions, in particular with roundings, and in that the base wall (20) and end wall (25) adjoin the side walls (18, 19; 23, 24) in a form-fitting manner.
 6. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the box side walls (18,19) and lid side walls (23, 24) are formed from partially overlapping outer side tabs (31) and lid side tabs (33), respectively, and inner side tabs (32) and lid side tabs (34), the inner side tabs (32, 34) extending merely in the region of an associated wall section (29, 30) of the relevant side wall (18, 19; 23, 24).
 7. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that, when the side walls (18, 19; 23, 24) are formed with a central edge (35), the inner side tabs (32, 34) extend as far as the central edge (34) and are aligned along the same.
 8. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that, in the case of side walls (18, 19; 23, 24) with a central rounding (51), the inner side tabs (32, 34) extend merely in the region of an associated wall section (29, 30), as far as the border region of the central rounding (51).
 9. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that corner tabs, namely base corner tabs (39) and/or lid corner tabs (40) are provided merely in the region of the inner side tabs (32, 34), on the latter, and extend obliquely on the inside of the respective base wall (20) and end wall (25), preferably in the case of a trapezoidal configuration, corresponding to the contour of the adjacent base wall (20) and end wall (25), respectively.
 10. The hinge-lid box as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pack contents provided are in the form of a cigarette group (11) which comprises three rows (43, 44, 45) of cigarettes, with the layer of cigarettes being offset from row to row, the central row (44) having in each case one cigarette (10) more than the two outer rows (43 and 45). 